Existing vehicles typically include power distribution box or unit for distributing power to a wide variety of vehicle components, accessories, and other electrical loads within the vehicle. For example, automotive vehicle applications may include a power distribution box for distributing power from a 12 vots (V) vehicle battery to vehicle control modules, such as, for example, a powertrain controller, body controller, battery controller, and the like, as well as countless vehicle systems, modules, and devices, such as, for example, vehicle lighting, HVAC, windows, mirrors, wipers, infotainment system, navigation system, etc.
In some cases, when a vehicle remains parked for an extended period of time, for example, while the vehicle owner is away on an especially long trip or while the vehicle is placed in storage, the 12 V battery of the vehicle can become drained by the time the owner returns to the vehicle. This battery drainage may occur because, even though the vehicle controllers may be put into a “sleep” mode, quiescent currents in the order of micro amperes add up over time and cause the battery to drain. Also, while the sleep mode attempts to preserve battery charge, some vehicle controllers remain at least partially active in order to listen for incoming signals, such as, for example, signals for starting the vehicle, locking or unlocking the vehicle, etc. This active listening can cause the vehicle battery to drain over time as well. To avoid battery drain, some vehicle owners resort to disconnecting the vehicle battery altogether. However, disconnecting the battery can cause all vehicle settings to be reset or lost, forcing the vehicle owner to reconfigure this settings once the he returns to the vehicle.
Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for an improved technique to preserve vehicle battery when a vehicle remains stationary or parked for an extended period of time.